PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE 453

which we are now familiar. Now the world is looking
forward to becoming as familiar with * television/ The dis-
covery of the X-ray, by the German Rontgen in 1895, has
enabled surgeons to see through a living body and observe its
innermost operations, while the use of anaesthetics (e.g. chlo-
roform) has revolutionised surgical practice. These striking
discoveries of modern science, taken almost at random, should
suffice to focus the reader's attention upon this phase of
recent human history which has revolutionised our lives to
an extent and in a manner never dreamed of before by man
in the long ages of his evolution.

Rather than attempt even a bare summary of the
vast and varied achievements of Science, it will be
more worthwhile to gauge their significance in human history.
Theoretically, man, in the beginning of his career was faced
with the double problem of understanding himself and his
vast and overwhelming environment; in practice, he had to
master his own personality within and subdue the forces
of Nature without. The history of Philosophy is one long
record of persistent human striving to apprehend Reality or
the meaning of life and existence; while the history of Science
is one long record of man's continued effort to gain control
over the same. In the Modern Age both our knowledge
regarding ourselves (physically, mentally, spiritually), and
our knowledge regarding the Universe in which we live, is
the richest ever attained by men. Likewise, our command
of all the rich resources of our material existence is title cora-
pletest ever exercised by homo sapiens on earth. The world
in which1 we live, with all its comforts, complexities, and
problems, is the map or index of our accumulated heritage.
It is obvious that the future of our race will depend upon
what use we make of this inheritance. The proWem of
problems to-day is to master the technological forces created